The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Smoke Bush known botanically as Cotinus coggygria and referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘Old Fashioned’.
‘Old Fashioned’ was discovered by the inventor in a cultivated area of Boskoop, The Netherlands in 1989. The inventor selected ‘Old Fashioned’ as a single-seedling which was growing in a bed of seedlings of Cotinus coggygria which the inventor had raised from seed collected by the inventor from plants grown at the inventor's nursery.
Cotinus coggygria is a deciduous shrub that is used in the landscape. ‘Old Fashioned’ is distinguished from all other existing varieties of Cotinus coggygria known to the inventor by its mature blue-green leaves contrasted with the young emerging leaves which are greyed-purple in color and which first attracted the inventor as a novel characteristic. This growth coloration continues through the summer before becoming deciduous as winter approaches. The inventor considered that ‘Old Fashioned’ was further distinguished by the large size and pronounced roundness of its foliage compared to other varieties of Cotinus known to the inventor. ‘Old Fashioned’ blooms in the early summer although the yellow green flowers are of limited interest and lasting only a few days.
The first asexual propagation was carried out by the inventor in the summer of 1990 at the inventor's nursery in Boskoop, The Netherlands, using softwood cuttings. Since that time under careful observation, ‘Old Fashioned’ has been determined stable, uniform, and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.